Friday, February 17, 2012

Khuian Sarwar (Abohar), April 12Colourful pottery items, prepared by two families of the village for generations, whose rare art skills have been recognised even by the Government of Punjab and at the Suraj Kund Craft Mela in Haryana, have been scripting their own fate and that of their manufacturers in different manners for many years now.

While the colourful pottery items have been finding a pride of place in the drawing rooms of well-to-do families, both in India and abroad besides being used as gift items, their manufacturers are not able to earn enough to make both the ends meet. They have come under heavy debt burden of late.

The families felt elated when their pottery items including thinking man, idols of goddesses, national emblem, flowerpots, lamp stands, tables, laughing Buddha, wall hangings, fish, masks, pitchers and sun, among others, fetched them the Kala Mani award at the Suraj Kund Craft Mela in 1995 in the category of Mitti Ke Bartan (clay utensils) and appreciation certificate from the then Governor of Punjab, BD Pande, in 1983.

Even the village became famous all over the country as the items prepared by the artisans attracted a large crowd at various exhibitions and handicraft festivals held in various parts of India.

Heera Lal, who belongs to the fourth generation of the artisans, said, "I want to switch on to another occupation which can offer me sufficient amount of money. I have come under debt amounting to Rs 1.5 lakhs."

Kirpa Ram, son of Heera Lal, expressed the similar views. Ram Lal, uncle of Heera Lal, said though they had kept the art alive so far, their next generation would be forced to leave it if the state government or its agencies did not extend financial help to them.

Ferozepur DC KK Yadav said a proposal to develop the place along with other places in the Ferozepur district as tourist hubs, had been sent to the Punjab government. He added that efforts were on to make arrangements for supporting the artisans, who could not get adequate publicity so far.

Beautiful Fazilka

Fazilite Network..

About Fazilka...

160 year old historical town Fazilka of District Ferozepur, also known as Bangla, is located in southwestern Punjab (INDIA), about 325 kms west of Punjab State Capital Chandigarh, 85 km south-west of the district headquarters, Ferozepur and 200 km south of Amritsar. Fazilka is on India -Pakistan border and is 11 km off the international border with Pakistan. It is situated on the rice growing and cotton rich belt of the state and is one of the major rice exporting centers in India. Before partition, the town was the biggest wool market in undivided Punjab.

Fazilka’s origin dates back to AD 1844. It was established by Mr. Oliver and was christened after the original owner of the land, Mian Fazil Watoo. The first railway line through the town was setup in AD 1898 on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the accession of Queen Victoria. Being at the border, Fazilka also had to bear the brunt of the two Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971.

The famous ‘Tosha’ sweets have its origin in Fazilka. The first single cylinder steam ship in the world, Fazilka, was named after this town. Fazilka is also home to the second biggest TV tower in Asia, which stands at 305 m above the ground.
Amritsar International Airport and Ludhiana Domestic Airport serves Fazilka. Fazilka Railway Station is located on Abhor- Ferozepur Region of Northern Railways. National Highway 10 passes through Fazilka.

Geography & Demography of the City:

As of 2001 India census,Fazilka had a population of 67,424. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Fazilka has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 62%. In Fazilka, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age